The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is believed to cause damage to your immune system. When your immune system is damaged, you can get sick from germs that wouldn't normally cause diseases. These germs take advantage of the opportunity created by your weakened immune system to cause an infection. That is why they are called "opportunisitic infections." There are four kinds of germs that can cause opportunistic infections:
Bacterial infections that can cause disease in people who have HIV include mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), tuberculosis (TB) and bacterial pneumonias.
Protozoa can cause toxoplasmosis, microsporidiosis, cryptosporidiosis and isosporiasis.
Fungi can cause pneumocystis carnii pneumonia (PCP), thrush, cryptococcosis (which can cause meningitis and pneumonia) and histoplasmosis.
Viruses that cause infections in people with HIV include cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes zoster (which can cause shingles) and herpes simplex.
The links on the right are various opportunistic infections and their typical drug treatments.
